


Comfort

by f_romanoff_13



Series: Family [23]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Comfort, Family, Gen, Kid - Freeform, Parent Avengers, Parenthood, Parents, Pregnancy, Pregnant, daughter - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-22
Updated: 2014-02-22
Packaged: 2018-01-13 08:14:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1219039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/f_romanoff_13/pseuds/f_romanoff_13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clint and Natasha's daughter has a question for her parents, but she's afraid asking it will upset them...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Comfort

**Author's Note:**

> Un beta-ed, all mistakes my own so apologies  
> The Avengers and related characters belong to Marvel
> 
> **In this fic Evelyn is 3 and Natasha is 8 months pregnant**  
>  (Refers to events in [**Loss**](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1017132))

“Daddy, can I ask you a question?”

Evie stood at the other end of their lounge, playing nervously with her long blond curls currently held in pigtails

“Sure you can Eve” he told her gently, opening his arms while she climbed up into his lap. “You can always ask me or Mommy anything”

“I can’t ask Mommy” she whispered quietly, looking round the floor to ensure Natasha wasn’t there

“Why not?”

“It will make her sad”

“Okay, but you know your Mommy would still want you to ask her if it's something you need to know, right?”

Evelyn nodded, but Clint could tell his daughter was still upset

“What is it Eve?”

“It might make you sad too, should I ask Aunty Pepper instead?”

“Come on Evie, talk to daddy. Tell me what’s bothering you”

He was starting to get a little nervous now. Evie was always a talkative child; sometimes they couldn’t get her to stop, but when she was upset she withdrew; just like her Mom.

“The babies in Mommy’s tummy...” she began, but stopped

“Yes?” Clint prompted, taking his daughters tiny hands in his to stop her fidgeting and force her to stop staring at them

“Are they gonna come home from the hospital with Mommy?”

“Yes, but they won't be born for a little while longer” Clint explained softly, looking into her deep emerald eyes 

“Because last time, you and Mommy came home without the baby” she finally reached what had been bothering her

“Ah” Clint said, catching up with the conversation. The unspoken question threw him slightly; it wasn’t what he’d been expecting, and it broke his heart just slightly that his daughter had been thinking about this so much, afraid to ask her parents for fear of reopening old wounds. 

A little over a year ago, just before Evelyn’s second birthday; Natasha had been six months pregnant with her and Clint’s second child. But following an attack on the Shield base, Natasha had suffered a placental abruption resulting from a violent run in with the agents sent to steal some of Shield’s files. She's lost a lot of blood and been rushed into surgery. The baby didn't survive, and Clint and Natasha had been left to inform their daughter that her little sister wouldn’t be coming home. 

Natasha had asked Clint a few months ago what he thought about talking through the events of the previous year again with their daughter now she was older, but they’d decided it probably wasn’t necessary. Evie had never brought it up and was probably too young to even remember it properly; they didn’t see the need to upset her again.  
It seems they were wrong.

Clint carefully explained to his daughter that Julia had gone to heaven because Natasha had been hurt while she was pregnant. He reassured her that everything was fine with both her Mom and the babies at the moment, and in a few weeks she would have two new baby siblings to help take care of.

Evie seemed satisfied with his simple explanation, and settled on her father’s lap with her favourite book, at least her favourite English book; 'The Cat in the Hat'. Her actual favourite book was in Russian, and although Clint was nearly enough fluent in Russian, Evelyn only ever allowed Natasha to read it to her, stating he didn't read it right.

Natasha arrived back from her shopping trip with Pepper shortly later, and Evie followed her round like a shadow for the rest of the day. Clint had to smile at the caring and concerned side of his daughter.  
If Natasha ever had doubts about her ledger; all she had to do was look at the perfect little girl they’d created, to know that nothing bad could have done that. She’d cleared her karmic debt, and Evie was proof they were allowed something good in their lives. 

Come bedtime Evie insisted that Natasha put her to bed and read her ‘Героиня и Герои’, she fell asleep quickly and Natasha soon appeared back in the lounge where Clint sat waiting on the sofa.

“You know, Evie asked me about Julia today” he told his wife once she was sat beside him, he saw the flicker of grief in her eyes before she caught control of her emotions

“Is she okay?”

“Yes, she’ll be fine. But I think that’s why she’s been following you around all day”

“Can’t it just be because she likes me better?” Natasha asked, lightening the mood with an ongoing joke between her and her husband. Clint always complained that Evie was a Mommys-girl, and vowed to make himself the twins’ favourite parent.  
He normally would have joked about her bribing Evie, but right now he’d just leave it. 

 

The following morning, Clint woke to find Evie had climbed into bed between them at some point in the night. She was curled up protectively round Natasha’s large bump, while her right arm was stretched up; her hand hovering over Natasha’s chest as she clutched her top in her tiny fist. Natasha's arm was wrapped round her daughter's back.

The steady humming of a heart had always comforted Evie, ever since she was a baby. Clint always managed to get her to sleep lying on his chest, the only way to comfort her while she was ill was to hold her close while she listened to the rhythm. Whenever she had a nightmare; she would always crawled into bed with her parents and would sleep with her hand placed over one of their hearts; the repetitive beat lulling her back into a pleasant sleep. It seemed it still offered her comfort, and Clint knew being close to Evelyn calmed Natasha too.

He leaned over to kiss both his girls while they slept, before climbing from the bed to get ready for work. He knew they'd be alright; they'd take care of each other.


End file.
